Mumbai, Aug. 24 -- The domestic equity benchmarks extended losses and hit fresh intraday lows in afternoon trade, weighed down by a lack of strong directional cues, continued FII selling and persistent tensions surrounding the US-Iran conflict. The Nifty traded below the 24,200 level. PSU Banks, Cement and FMCG shares declined while those of metals, IT and realty companies edged higher.

At 13:31 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 236.52 points or 0.31% to 77,304.31. The Nifty 50 index fell 79.85 points or 0.33% to 24,172.15.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index shed 0.07% while the BSE 250 SmallCap Index rose 0.05%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 2030 shares rose and 2246 shares fell. A total...